Live Laugh Love
by TransfiguredToad
Summary: The Ministers looks at the population of the wizarding world. It is declining rapidly. They need more people, more children and, so, every student from every school in the wizarding world is sent to a town where they are given children to raise and a relationship to flourish. H/G, R/H, D/H


**A/N - Hello! This is a story that I've redone so many times. It's the only story I've never really had writer's block with! I'm onto the fifth chapter so far and I won't be posting Chapter Two for a while. I just want to see what you think. It'll be a bit fluffy, at times, probably. **

**The pairings will be:**

**Harry and Ginny**

**Ron or Draco and Hermione**

**If you have any ideas, just contact me with a review or PM. Thank you for reading. Let's begin with Live Laugh Love.**

**Live Laugh Love**

**Chapter One**

Ginny watched Harry skip stones into the lake by the Burrow. He hadn't spoken to any of them since he'd arrived at the Burrow, except upon prompting. He'd arrived the day before with Dumbledore, late at night, and hadn't eaten anything at breakfast. He had gone straight outside then, without talking to anyone. Ginny had followed and had sat behind him, unnoticed, for an hour now.

Swallowing, she stood up, left her shoes and socks by the tree and walked slowly to sit down next to Harry, putting her feet in the water with Harry's. "Hey," she said. Harry's eyes stayed forward.

"Don't try to make me talk, Gin. I'm not in the mood," Harry said harshly. Ginny didn't draw back. She sat with him. Not long later, Harry spoke again. "What do you want, Ginny?" he asked.

Ginny took his hand, on a whim, and squeezed it. "Nothing."

Harry looked uncomfortable. Ginny moved slightly closer to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Ginny," Harry started.

"You don't need to talk, Harry; I get it," she said.

It was ten minutes later, when Harry spoke, "He possessed me, Gin, so I suppose you do get it." Ginny moved to look at him. "When I chased after Bellatrix, I tried to cast the cruciatus on her," he admitted. "It didn't work. She fell to the ground. Apparently, I didn't hate her enough. She killed Sirius and I didn't hate her enough," he continued, looking angry. Ginny squeezed his hand again. "And then Voldemort was there and then Dumbledore and they duelled. I'll never get that good, Gin. I'll never be able to defeat Voldemort," he told her.

"You don't have to!" Ginny cried out. "Harry, that's not your responsibility!"

Harry laughed harshly and continued, "Voldemort left and he possessed me. It was like my scar was splitting open. He made me tell Dumbledore to kill me." Ginny buried her face into Harry's shoulder. "I thought of Sirius and seeing him again, because I thought I was going to die, and then, because of my emotions towards Sirius," Ginny noticed that he didn't say 'love'. "Voldemort was gone. He couldn't stand it."

And then he was silent. Ginny kicked her feet in the water slightly, causing a slight splash. She then noticed that Harry was only wearing shorts. His legs were hairy enough to show that he'd grown up, but not too hairy as to hide his slightly tanned calves and thighs. The water splashed Harry's legs, but he ignored it. Deciding to cheer Harry up, Ginny splashed more water and Harry still didn't look up. She then used her hands and splashed water onto his lap. Harry turned his head to look at her and glared.

He kicked with his considerably longer legs than Ginny's and splashed her in the chest and legs. "Oi!" she said, laughing. Harry then pushed slightly on her shoulder so that she fell in. She went under and Harry freaked.

"Ginny!" he shouted, but then he felt the hands on his legs, pulling him in. "Hey!" he shouted as he emerged himself in the cold water. Ginny giggled and her head bobbed back up. Harry was clutching the side of the lake. "I can't swim, Gin," he told her, watching her smile drop from her face. "I mean, I learnt a bit at primary school, but-"

Ginny looked horrified. "I'm sorry, Harry!" she cried, looking as if she was actually going to start crying.

"Wait, Gin, you could teach me?" he suggested. Ginny grinned and she began.

They were swimming for two hours when Harry felt that he could swim pretty well. He could do the width of the lake without stopping and he almost had the length. "Thank you, Gin," he said, smiling at her. "This was fun," he nodded. Ginny reciprocated and then hugged him. Harry froze. He didn't like contact; he never had. Then again, he considered, having a very attractive girl's breasts pushed into you was never something to say no to. So, he hugged back.

Eventually, Ginny moved her head from his shoulder and looked up at him. Her t-shirt was heavy with water and sagged a bit, showing her cleavage. Her hair was wet and strands hung loosely on the front of her face. He looked down to her lips. She bit her bottom one. Harry moved one of his hands and tucked one of the longer strands of hair behind her ear, before starting to lean in to kiss her. He was going to kiss her. He was. He was getting closer. Her lips looked so soft, so perfect –

"Oi! Harry! Ginny!"

It was the twins. Harry swallowed and looked away from Ginny.

"You better come!"

They sounded serious. Serious twins was never a good sign. Harry swam to the side of the lake and pushed himself out of the water with Ginny following. The twins took out their wands and dried them. Harry was worried. Normally, Fred and George would leave them to freeze. "Come on."

Harry and Ginny followed the twins back to the house, where Ron, Hermione and Mrs Weasley sat. Ron and Hermione held opened letters. Fred and George left. No one spoke as Harry and Ginny sat down and opened their letters. Harry started with the envelope addressed to him in green ink.

_HARRY POTTER'S OWL RESULTS_

_ASTRONOMY – A_

_CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES – E_

_CHARMS – O_

_DEFENCE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS – O_

_DIVINATION – P_

_FLYING – O_

_HERBOLOGY – E_

_HISTORY OF MAGIC – D_

_POTIONS – O_

_TRANSFIGURATION – O _

Harry didn't understand what the others were so morbid about. Maybe they'd failed all their OWLs. Harry was ecstatically happy. Five Outstandings, including one in Potions. He'd only failed two and had an acceptable and two exceeds expectations. This was brilliant. He looked over to Ginny and watched her eyes widen and mouth drop open.

Harry opened his second envelope, furrowing his brow. A notebook and pen fell out.

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_Due to unfortunate circumstances, the wizarding world's population is declining rapidly. Most families are having just one child and, in some cases, none at all. When a wizard or witch has a child with a muggle, the magical power loses some of its purity and strength. Fortunately, your Ministry has a solution. For the next five years, yourself and a witch of the ministry's choosing will be living under certain conditions in a Ministry-created town, called Minborn, which will be split into fifteen areas, with heads leading each section._

_Using DNA given at birth, we have created children for yourself and your partner. Each person will have at least one child, who will be real. At the end of the five years, these children will stay with you and you will watch them grow up as your own children. They have your DNA, just like a traditionally-born baby would have._

_Because of the amount of people from the major schools in the world that will be going to Minborn, allowing you to use your wands would cause a magical overload. You will be allowed to use magic for just an hour every day. This timeslot will be given to you in a letter tomorrow, along with more information about your trip._

_Each family will be given a sum of money and a house, as well as a choice of jobs. You will need to fill in the forms quickly, when you receive them tomorrow, detailing your job choice, or they will be snatched up. You must also think up two boy names and two girl names, ready to give them in tomorrow for checking and confirming, and write them down, for now, in the muggle notepads given with the muggle pens._

_You will receive more information tomorrow._

_Good luck._

_Madam Debra Bridge_

Harry stared at the parchment. "How can they do this to us?" he asked Mrs Weasley.

"They can't just marry us off!" Ginny exclaimed, brushing her hand through her hair. Ginny looked over to Hermione, expecting her to have a solution, like she always did. Hermione was slumped against the back of her chair, eyes wet, reading over the letter over and over. She shook her head. "This isn't fair!" Ginny screamed, "I don't want to be a mum! I don't want some little brats to look after!"

Molly shot a harsh look at her daughter, "I can't imagine that they would trust you with a child, Ginevra, considering you are acting like one." Ginny glared through wet eyes. "None of us want this. Do you think I don't want to see you for five years? Do you think I don't want to meet my grandchildren for five years? You are my daughter, Ginny, and I have to leave you alone for five years. You have some serious growing up to do. Now, each one of you is going to write down four names that you want to call your children."

Ginny took her notebook and stormed upstairs, where she wrote down the four names she had always dreamed of calling her children:

_Boys_

_James Arthur_

_Daniel William_

_Girls_

_Lily Ginevra_

_Elmira Molly_

Of course, none of that would happen now. She thought of all her dreams of a life with Harry, with baby James and baby Lily. Harry would be a brilliant dad and a brilliant husband. She would be Mrs Ginny Potter. Their almost kiss in the lake that morning had brought her hopes up again, only to be shot down by the letter.

Ginny dissolved into the sobs she'd been holding in since she opened her letter.

**Live Love Laugh**

Downstairs, Hermione scratched down one name – Ailsa Jean. She saw that Ron was drawing quaffles in the notebook, bored. He had, at least, drawn a line down the middle of the page, one side reading 'Boys' and the other 'Girls'. Harry had done the same, but he had Lily on one side and James on the other. Hermione smiled sadly.

It was an hour of silence later, after Hermione had added Jesse to the boys list and Juliet to the girls, that Ginny swung down the stairs, her eyes looking red, with her notebook in hand. She looked directly at her mother, "We need to learn how to cook," Ginny said. Mrs Weasley nodded.

"Let's see the names first, dear," Mrs Weasley asked, smiling. She opened up the book to find five names. "Elijah Arthur, Daniel William, Imogen Ginevra, Elmira Molly, Sera. What about Sera Muriel, Ginny?"

Ginny rolled her eyes and then said insistently, "Will you teach us to cook, Mum?"

"Yes, once I look at Hermione's and the boys' names," she said. She picked up Hermione's names first and read, "Ailsa Jean, Jesse Michael and Juliet. Have you got no middle name for her, dear?" Molly asked.

"I'm sure one will come to me," Hermione said. "Why don't you read Ron and Harry's?" she suggested, earning glares from both of her best friends. Hermione snorted. Ginny rolled her eyes at the boys.

Mrs Weasley picked up Ron's book first and found just a first name in the boys' list – Andrew. Harry's list, however, had all four names. "James Remus, Lily, Sirius Arthur and Merida Molly," she read, near tears by the end. She kissed Harry's hair and ruffled it. Harry blushed and Ron snickered. "Now, Ginevra, I will teach you all to cook, the muggle way."

"Oh, Mrs Weasley," Harry said, "I already know how to cook."

"We'll see." Mrs Weasley said, "Now, until we can find somebody who actually knows how to make meals the muggle way, we will just make bread. Ginny, go with Harry and get some flour, yeast, butter, salt and the jug from the cupboard, would you?"

Ginny nodded and led Harry to the cupboard. When they were in there, Ginny began routing around for some flour.

"Ginny," Harry called her to attention. She looked at him and he continued, "Can I kiss you?" he asked. Ginny's eyes widened as she nodded. "I can't get married to someone and know that I won't ever be able to do this," he said, before closing the distance between them.

His lips were soft, Ginny noticed, and moist. The kiss was slow and gentle and Harry wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her closer. He turned his head to deepen the kiss and Ginny complied. It was wonderful, much better than anything with Michael.

Eventually, Harry drew away, leaving Ginny with swollen lips and wide eyes. He was reaching up for some yeast on the top shelf and already holding a bag of flower. He walked over to the corner for the butter and Ginny picked up some salt and the jug.

Ginny nodded, trying to wrap her head around what had just happened, and watched him leave, knowing that, whilst the morning's swim had helped, Harry wasn't happy, not that she was surprised. Sirius had been murdered. She followed Harry into the kitchen.

Ron and Hermione had cleared the table and Mrs Weasley had four mixing bowls out. Ron and Hermione stood on one side of the table and Harry and Ginny stood on the other. And Mrs Weasley began dictating what to measure out, how to mix in each stage and when to pour each thing in.

"Why isn't it working?" Ginny cried, stirring harder. She'd been trying for it to come together for at least ten minutes now. Harry was done and his was wrapped in clingfilm and put in the boiler cupboard.

"Want some help?" Harry asked her, from behind. Ginny almost sighed in pleasure as Harry took over. His voice had broken in the last year and it was unbelievably sexy. His Adam's apple jutted out and his chin was covered in a light stubble, from not shaving. She stared at his well-shaped arse, as he stirred her bread mixture, and admired it. The jeans he was wearing were definitely too baggy, but she could see the makings of a bloody good arse there. She wondered what his chest looked like. Had she really lost her chance with Harry because of the bloody ministry?

Ginny continued to stare at Harry's arse and, eventually, Harry turned around and she snapped her head up, smiling sheepishly. Harry blushed slightly. "I finished that roll of clingfilm, but I think there was some more in the pantry?" Harry said, "Want to come with?" Ginny nodded quickly and they left Ron and Hermione to their current argument.

"Hi," Ginny said, upon entering the room. Harry pushed his glasses up his nose, knowing that just half an hour ago they'd been having a bloody good snog in here. "One more?" Ginny suggested. Harry nodded and backed her into the wall. Contrary to their slow, gentle kiss earlier, this one was hard, fast and sexy. Harry had a leg on either side of her legs and her hands were buried in his hair.

Ginny's lips were definitely swollen when Harry pulled away, breathing heavily and leaning his head against her forehead. They wrapped up the bread in the clingfilm and took it upstairs to put in the boiler room, where Ginny stole another kiss. "What do you want to do?" she asked, "We have forty-five minutes."

It was quite a strange feeling, Harry thought, as he and Ginny walked out of the Burrow towards the Weasleys' Quidditch pitch, spending time with Ginny without Ron or Hermione. It shouldn't have been, Harry considered, if only he hadn't been so self-absorbed after the Chamber incident. That must have been hell for her, yet he just ignored her, because of her crush. He liked spending Ginny, he thought; she was funny, kind and pretty. More than pretty, Harry thought, as Ginny shot off on her broom.


End file.
